Jobless teachers hold torch rally in Kol, distribute leaflets during bus trip to Del for Jantar Mantar stir
Times of India | 16 April 2025
1234 Kolkata: It was a different Poila Baisakh for protesting teachers who lost their jobs following the Supreme Court order. They organised a torch rally from Wellington to Dharmatala Y-channel, where participants held up a handmade greeting card that read "Unhappy New Year". Meanwhile, a bus carrying 60 protesting teachers that departed from Y-channel reached Delhi early on Wednesday morning.
Thousands of teachers, along with non-teaching staffers, are holding a sit-in protest, demanding their jobs back. They assert that they are eligible and secured their positions by proving their merits.
Ummesh Alma from East Midnapore said, "I was the only maths teacher at the school where I taught. I thought it was a secure job. Never did I imagine that I would have to protest seeking my job back."
A chemistry teacher, Rimpa Mukherjee, stated: "I was recruited following the first counselling and joined in 2019. My seven-year-old daughter still believes that her mother goes to school, even though her mother is among those fighting to regain their hard-earned jobs. Even in private jobs, there is a notice period, but here I lost my job in an instant."
Aditi Basu, too, was the only maths teacher at the school where she used to teach. Now there is no teacher for mathematics, chemistry, physics and biology. Many students, who are getting ready for their second summative exams, have been calling me. Considering their concerns, I shared some study materials, but I will enter the school only after winning the legal battle."
While these protesting teachers and staffers were marching on the streets, the bus carrying 60 protesting teachers and staffers reached Delhi a few hours ahead of their sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar. During their journey, wherever the bus stopped, they distributed leaflets outlining the issues and their demands among common people, requesting support. Some protesting teachers visited Greenfield Public School in Daulatpur, Uttar Pradesh, where they explained their situation.